Foldable garment bags are formed with a handle and/or shoulder strap arranged midway along the length of the bag which is folded over to expose the handle and shoulder strap so that the garment bag may be carried folded over on itself to approximate a suitcase size. When the traveler is on a plane, bus or train, or arrives in a hotel room, the garment bag halves are unfolded, and the garment bag is hung on a closet rod or on a door by means of a hanger extending from the top free end of the bag.
When garment bags of this type are folded for carrying, the hanger by which the garment bag is hung often dangles from the bag, becoming entangled with adjacent objects as the bag is moved.
Further, problems arise in manipulating the hanger by which the bag is to be hung to position it over a rod or door top due to the difficulty of gripping the hanger and keeping a user's fingers from being squeezed between the hanger and rod, or door top.
In order to obviate the problems existing with a free hanging garment bag hanger, a variety of arrangements have been evolved to enclose the free end of the hanger when the hanger is not being actively employed.
Thus in U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,675, the supporting hanger is coupled to the bag by a chain which may be retracted with the hanger into the garment bag. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,479 a hanger assembly is disclosed in which the hanger is subject to being engaged by a clip or by means of a hook and loop type fastener when not in use. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,700, the hanger is subject to being engaged in a loop on the other end of the bag and hidden under a flap. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,014, the bag hanger is subject to being hidden under a retainer flap formed in the opposite end of the bag when the bag is folded. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,061, a hanger assembly is disclosed in which the hanger is spring-retractable so that the free end engages in a grommet on the carrying case body.
These prior art patents broadly serve to solve the problem of permitting the hanger to be protected when not in use. However, problems exist in the use of these prior art devices in that special manipulation of the hanger is required, and/or the hanger is not readily manipulable into position over a closet rod or door top.